The Great Battle (2018) - Review by Joshua Flanagan

The movie begins with a battle between the Goguryeo soldiers and the soldiers from China, that is shown to be disastrous for the Goguryeo soldiers. It is here we meet the main character Sa-Mul, his good-natured character is shown through his reluctance to allow his friend's dead body to be left on the battlefield. Sa-Mul returns to Goguryeo and is ordered by Yeon Gaesomun to infiltrate Ansi fortress and kill Yang Manchun, because Yeon Gaesomun considers him a traitor. At the same time the Chinese are getting ready to begin their assault on the fortress. Sa-Mul makes his way to Ansi picking up two other Goguryeo soldiers on the way. The three of them assist some people with their wagon and it turns out that one of those people is Yang Manchun. Believing him to be a spy Yang Manchun binds his hands and leads him to the fortress of Ansi. He abandons his plan to murder Yang Manchun after seeing how much he cares for the people of Ansi. Sa-Mul returns to Yeon Gaesomun and convinces him to reinforce Yang Manchun. The reinforcements arrived and the Goguryeo forces were successful in repelling the much larger Chinese army.

Historical accuracy is evident in many elements of the film, but there were some instances where it was sacrificed for the sake of the film. Much of the siege is unknown and therefore had to be fictional. The most significant historical accuracies come from the armor worn. The Gorguryeo forces are all wearing full plate armor with pronounced neck and face protectors, even their horses are heavily armored. Whereas the Chinese have unarmored horses and only parts of their army is fully armored and for the most part is more lightly armored then the Gorguryeo forces. The weapons used were also historically accurate, with spears and bows being prevalent and swords and crossbows being used to lesser extents. The siege was said to be four months long, the movie represents this through several fight scenes during the day and during the night. The siege ended with the arrival of reinforcements led by Yeon Gaesomun, which is accurate. Despite the tendency of the movie to prioritise story telling over historical accuracy it is evident that strides were made to make the film as close to the siege as possible.